‘The Good Wife,’ Season 4, Episode 10, ‘Battle of the Proxies’: TV Recap

After last week’s memorable episode, with the appearance of Stockard Channing as Alicia’s sublimely inappropriate mother and the surprising, post-Turkey, Peter-Alicia bathroom quickie … well, what could beat it? Only “Battle of the Proxies,” which tosses Eli to the judicial wolves, imparts some alarming news about Jackie, and may, finally, rid us of Kalinda’s creepy ex.

Even the court case is intriguing, mainly because it’s two cases, involving one crime. In Chicago, Lockhart, Gardner client Troy Malick is charged with the murder of a young woman following a rock festival. Simultaneously, her abusive ex-boyfriend, is on trial in another county. (I didn’t even know you could do this.) For obvious reasons, the firm is eager to aid the prosecution in the second case. And in this latest battle between ASA Hellinger and Gardner, Judge Morris (Jane Alexander) gets off a great retort to Will’s charge of a “gross miscarriage of justice”: “Has there ever been ‘a mere miscarriage of justice’—why is it always a ‘gross miscarriage’? “

But the episode starts with Eli at a cafeteria counter, classical piano playing on his earphones, when he is interrupted by another diner. David LaGuardia (the accomplished actor Hamish Linklater—let’s hope we see more of him) is from the Justice Department, and he’s digging into Gold’s crisis management of a former client.

Eli bolts, asks his assistant to get the client on the phone, then changes his mind and heads for Diane. After telling her about LaGuardia’s query, he shows her the surveillance photo of a conversation he had with Kalinda in his office. He asks Diane not to involve Alicia or Will, since he wants to keep the Justice investigation from Peter.

In court, Lockhart’s criminal defense may rest on soil analysis, and at home, Alicia looks up “What are types of clay loam?” on her computer. “What are types of condoms?” appears as the most recent similar search. When she goes to Zach to see if he was so searching, her son balks and denies it, then points out that Grace also uses the computer. Besides, he knows how to erase the evidence.

After some resistance, Alicia convinces the other county prosecutor to use the Chicago evidence, specifically the soil analysis. It’s the same soil found on the other defendant’s shoe.

Back at the firm, Nick’s waiting for Alicia in the conference room. He tells her he doesn’t want Cary on his case anymore, because “he accused me of running drugs.” (This happened last week, when Cary—tougher than we would have suspected— visited Nick’s tow truck site after he got beat up in the parking lot.) Alicia asks him to wait, goes into the hall and stands there for a while, then tells Nick that she talked to the partners and they don’t want to represent him anymore.

“I know you’re the wife of the State’s Attorney,” he tells her. “And you don’t want to say anything to anybody about this drug charge ever. That’s attorney-client privilege and all that.”

“Here’s the thing Mr. Savarese,” she answers. “Attorney-client privilege is voided if I’m threatened. Are you threatening me?”

“You decide,” he says.

Will gets a break in court when a security guard testifies he heard the victim screaming. But when, at Will’s request, he puts in the plugs he routinely wears to protect his ears from loud music, he can’t hear Kalinda screaming in the corridor. Realizing she might lose, Laura asks ASA Matan Brody for help and he heads to the other county’s court room with notes from the Chicago detective on the case.

Alicia asks Kalinda, not for the first time, if she should be afraid of Nick. Kalinda says no. “Then I’m not in danger?” Alicia presses. “No, you won’t be,” Kalinda says.

Eli and Diane meet the Justice agent in a cafeteria and show him the surveillance photo. He claims he knows nothing about it and, “if what you show me is indeed DOJ work, whoever showed you broke the law.”

“Good to know,” says Diane. “Now what are you after?”

LaGuardia says he’s investigating some kind of quid pro quo where Gold funneled money into his ex-wife’s campaign (remember that?) by undercharging crisis management clients. That would be a campaign finance violation.

(Alicia, incidentally, flitters through this episode in the jewel tones that suit her best, gorgeous red and sapphire blue jackets, interspersed with gray satin and tweed.)

There’s trace evidence in Troy’s car connecting him to the murder; barred in Chicago, it’s allowed in the other trial. (This is less confusing as it unfolds than in trying to recap it!)

Alicia relaxes at home by confronting Grace with the condom search.

“OMG Mom, you really think I’d use a computer to find out about condoms?”

In the Chicago courtroom, a witness testifies that he saw Troy carrying a lumpy blanket to his car. Will gets him to admit he had 7 or 8 beers that night, plus smoked pot. Gardner then tries to sneakily show the witness a photo of the other defendant (the jury is not supposed to know about the other trial), but Laura gets the judge to ban it.

Kalinda goes to visit Nick’s junkyard in what would have been a more interesting scene if you could hear the dialogue. (Actress Archie Panjabi’s voice is often difficult to hear, and it’s not helped by the background noise in this scene.) But anyway, you get the idea when she rams her car into one he’s fixing, then backs up and knocks him down, picks up his gun and opens the trunk to find drugs. Whatever she says (which to me sounds like “Tell me I’ll be at work…stop out of this”), it’s not good news for Nick.

Back at the Eli-Justice showdown, Gold says he’s not going to turn on his ex-wife. No problem, says LaGuardia, it’s Peter they’re after: “We’d drop any charges against Mr. Gold in return for a proffer for Mr. Florrick.”

“Go to hell,” Eli tells him. And when LaGuardia suggests Diane would offer him different advice, she also tells him to go to hell.

At the dueling murder trials, the firm discovers that the witness describing a lumpy blanket did get a very big detail right: He had testified there was an M on it, but turned upside down, that’s a W, which stands for Watercleanse, which was indeed on Troy’s blanket.

“Our client is guilty,” Kalinda says.

“I’ve been helping prosecute an innocent man,” Alicia says.

So what, responds Will: “We have to zealously represent our client.”

Cary points out that the dirt on the other defendant’s shoes was probably from his work site. Alicia again worries that she’s knowingly sending an innocent man to jail.

Eli’s assistant breaks into the conference room, suggesting he better come outside. The Justice department is dismantling his office.

And speaking of evidence, computer-savvy Zach figures out that the condom search was conducted at 8:12 PM Thanksgiving night…by Jackie!

“Zach, we never speak of this again,” Alicia says.

“I’m good with that,” he agrees.

In Chicago, the jury finds the defendant guilty. In the other county, the jury finds its defendant guilty. (How is this legal?)

In a bar, Will finds Laura, buys her a drink and tells her she can use the firm’s evidence to get the other guy off on appeal.

Kalinda is in the office late at night when Nick appears. She tells him she called the cops to tell them about his tow trucks smuggling drugs. “There’s nothing here for you anymore,” she adds. “So your best bet is to cross the border here.” She shows him a map and gives him a key to a locker in a bus station. “I placed half my $20,000 there. I want you to take it and go. There’s nothing left of us, Nick. Nothing.”

Nick is unshaken. He doesn’t believe she called the cops. “That’s not your style. What’s your Plan B?”

She stands up and gives him a menacing look.

Next thing we know, Kalinda’s joining Alicia for tequila shots. She tells Alicia that they’re both safe: “He’s not coming back.”

“You sure?” Alicia asks.

“Yeah,” Kalinda says, eyes darting.

So what do you think? Did she kill him? I’d like that, because (1) we for sure wouldn’t have to see him again and (2) eventually Kalinda will be charged with murder, and the firm will have to defend her. That’s a season in itself!

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